Eco in Norway: The annual Zero Emission Conference 2011

Lord Anthony Giddens and me / Iselin Rolvsjord Fergestad (photo)

Speakers:
Einar Haandlykken, Executive Director of ZERO
Heidi Sorensen, State Secretary from The Ministry of the Environment
Erna Solberg, leader of the Conservative Party of Norway.
Anthony Giddens, sociologist member of Green Growth Council
Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action
Arnold Schwarzenegger, former businessman, investor and politician
Bunker Roy, founder of Barefoot College
Martha Delgado Peralta, Head of the Mexico City Ministry of Environment
Ole Enger, President & CEO in REC Group
Representatives from the ”Powerhouse-alliance”
Johan Rockstrom, Executive Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre

Months have passed, and finally time for delivery again . :) Lots of work has occupied my life in all areas,this blog was a transition from travel to discovery, from meetings to life inventions and insight, and finally from past into presence. In a global, digital age, we need to keep up with the crowds, but not forget ourselves. To bring one`s imagination for real is not very far from computer generated reality of "other self exploration", either, as reality when it appears in nature is completely and fundamentally dependent on balancing energies. Human nature is to create human impact, in positive and negative sence. So the impact must be carefully designed in cooperation with natural flow of life assurements. In no other membership than our "Earth Company" where the executive is not the script writer, but the "structured improvisor".

Zero Conference:
I will give you excerpts from some of their best quotes. The conference http://www.zero11.no/ started out with its executive, Einar Haanlykken from the Zero Organization, and I will further promote his point with the growing abilities of China. As you might guess, Zero Conference is all-business.Or, maybe not. At least, this is macro economy ground zero.

Very similar to the german Econsense (my blog offer: http://ecoiselin.blogspot.com/2010/11/eco-in-germany-econsense-forum-berlin.html ).

Einar mentioned, that China was not the front runners of the industrial revolution. They were not ahead of the technology and media revolution, either. But, they apparently want to be the front runners of the renewables and sustainability revolution! So here they stand first in line, so that they are no longer the country "to be told what to do and where to move". Like Arnold Schwartznegger said at this conference; When we in the western countries have been driving cars for so long, we cannot suddenly tell the chinese to keep biking as usual, when we suddenly found out hundred years later that biking was a very good thing to do.:)

In Norway, we keep waiting for our target group and competitors to grow, before altering into anything like "front running". But with these huge world dominance-competitors and (previously) cold war-enemies like China and the US and Russia (and India), they have another attitude against innovation. We must not forget they are different in strategy than the power we struggle with around in Scandinavian countries.

From his speech to my point: It is important to remember that ethnographic study of innovation and industrial development in Norway, describes domestic innovation as mainly "need driven" . Which means that there are no innovation risks even though innovations exist in big volume (in opposite to Sweden)! As "we argue that innovation activity, by definition, will challenge and sometimes alter established boundaries" (quoted from this very important information of energy innovation and organizational establishment etc.: http://organizinginnovation.wordpress.com/ ).

When something is "need driven", we`d of course not pay attention to the strong rise of solar industry in the rest of Europe, increasing 42 percent in 2010 in Germany alone, with Italy straight behind at 21 percent.  It is soon becoming a competitive source of energy approaching grid parity with nuclear, and we don`t even know it!

In only 3 years, Europe has created 300 000 new jobs in the field of renewables (source: Hedegaard)! Apart from European rise, China wants to be the innovators, so their wind capacity is already on shore as the biggest consumer on earth of wind energy. By becoming a competitive part, China is now no longer a follower of the jet stream, the car industry or the industrial revolution, they are becomming leaders of some kind. And they are dangerously ahead of us, without us even knowing it. That is the price we`ll have to pay , by leaning on some "need driven" activity..

There are much things good, though, about the Norwegian patience. Our hope, is to become the "smartest solution"-maker and marketers. Norway has always been waiting. Always in great observation of others, maybe not carefully, but the observing role has been our brightest function also, with such a great student organization. But what is the fun of experts if experts are singular functional? This is why I cheer formost on entrepreneurs before anyone else.

In our orgs, specialized people with just the brightest ideas and history, remain inside their functional stabs maybe because of their social acceptance fright, and all the gold keep mourning inside with no matrixed crossfading solutions communicated in the public atmosphere to a man-next-door. But I am sure, that we have some golden opportunities here: In 2010, global green revenues increased by 7%,which is more than the Swiss GDP and a world record 400 billion EUR! (Source: Hedegaard)

We just have to look a little above our shoulders for a second, because the EU has a 20 percent renewables target combating the 15 percent emissions in Europe of global emissions, but increased as more industries in Europe are in other countries, so that we are also much more contributing. But the target is set. We have to keep following its tale.

How to develope our agriculture? Take a look at the Barefoot College as example: http://www.barefootcollege.org/ . Why is local contribution and knowledge important? Because, without the local knowledge, such as tribal togetherness, the agricultural spirit will never be delivered from grand-dads to grand-sons, and which is the rutine of the "undeveloped country"-style. So local feed, is needed. Sanitation, clean water, pure local electricity, and fair trade, is necessary. Creativity is not in our hands, but theirs. They already have it, as human beings. Give them the basic standards of life cycling sources, and they`ll soon be your employees! Why should we always think that by holding someone back in line, we come first? By bringing someone down, you hold yourself up?

Reality says: By constructing sustainable agriculture and functionality in developing countries, we give not only them the shed to self-help and sustainability, we also cut our own emissions so drastically, that we could perhaps fly another mile without feeling guilty by doing so. Because this strategy is very similar to Denmark`s shipping sector; pay its oil by offshore windmills giving the same amount ot energy back to the oil company (it is called carbon neutral strategy..), or when I visited the ecovillages last year - almost everyone seemed to agree to have a car in their household - because why not get the goods when you do so much good elsewhere? Like cleaning your waste water from the garage. It is smart - simply that !

Eco in Norway: Earth Hour

Earth Hour, the 26th of March , 20.30 pm to 21.30 pm.

Earth Hour is probably the easiest communication about the climate for everyday people to remember, and that is why it became a world wide hit. "Turn off the light for one hour", and do not forget there are more things that give energy and that the earth needs attention just as much. Because this is a lot more than an energy saving campaign, because actually that is not the main case at all (and misunderstood/ not communicated). This is a global message put simple. The most simple action one can do, and one can remember. To attract people to its cause. To save energy is just one part of the solution, but not at all the part that contributes to an alternative. Like creativity. No one tells you what to do, but what to not do. Turning off the light is the symbolistic meaning - and this, is probably a lot deeper than just the simple outward message that they deliver.

Inside this message, there is probably a full potential of waking up some brain cells to understand ourselves and our nature of lazyness! We`ve become lazy , also because of the easy transport of energy that is in the technology age. What to do when nobody helps you with electricity-supply? oh gosh, we`re stuck! :) No, we`re not at all stuck.  Because it is too easy, to just turn off the light and forget where you are. Yes, it is dark , but you live on a living planet. Full of energy. Full of creativity. And most of it still untouched. Their website had an application where people could subscribe and tell what you spent the hour doing, and suddenly one could see that there is a global conscious mind after all.

I came to participate in this event through WWF-Norway, which is a global organization with local contributors. Working together with another organization in Norway, called Gronn Hverdag this time, showed and proved that co-operation in the green field is essential for attracting people at the same goal, and also that the actions are common by all after all. No one is a king or a queen in the name of the big mother earth.

It was good for me to join some active ones in Norway finally, after meeting so many danes and swedish and german with solutions that we`ve just seen a rough outline of in Norway so far. But I`ve learned that things are happening in my country step by step and I am proud of it (the country) more than anyone could imagine after all I`ve been saying, just because what I see in Norway that lies in the future is a lot of the same beauty that only the chinese seem to discover here. They wouldn`t care about electric cables in the Hardanger Fjord! The fjord is way too beautiful to them! What to do instead is to prepare for local electricity in much larger scale than what Norway is able to do at the moment. Preparing is the nature that we lack of, in the positive and the negative sence on the same time. The nature of Norway is quite monoistic, but to grow up is about preparing for your adulthood, on the same time the playfulness from childhood should not be forgotten. The union of these is to discover the possibilities of the imaginative nature. And this is, what Norway still needs. An imaginative nature on the same level as the World Cup Ski Championships on national broadcast and especially in the heart of Oslo.

Childrens` future; touching and feeling the melting ice bear.

WWF Staff on top of the Plaza hotel with the panorama view over Oslo

Eco in World: To live along with natural disasters; Pollution is for Processing.

Natural "disasters" are here to stay. They`ve forever been here, but as the world is more connected than ever, all incidents hit us more directly and frustrates us more than ever. To learn how to live alongside them is the new challenge for all parts of the world.

I am in a little peaceful corner here writing, trying to help out with a tiny bit of communication which has all been said before, but I know that I am also responsible as citizen of one of the oil nations, for many of the disasters already been here. So I have to be active, and cannot ignore my nabour. This time around, Japan has a hard time. And before we start to use our seeds in the Svalbard Seed Vault or building a giant Noah's Ark, I am interested in communicating that to build houses or lifestyles to merge with the natural changes of today and tomorrow, is much more important. To build infrastructure and engineering that is more than just technique above nature, that can live alongside nature, is what we have to face.

It is a practical language. To keep up the sustainability, in other words, keep the natural Balance. Bears can express it or "make actions" to keep it, but it is not a "language" in the sence of words.


This frog "knows" that I am about to pinch him,
so he got himself some jumping legs to escape from it.

In the spot where the earth needs to renew. This is logic. This is not "intelligence" in the form of an organism that "thinks". Rather I find this kind of organism, called a "she" or the earth, one hardworking body connected to not only our actions, but our bodies, too.

From farming methods, we all know that urine as an example is very good vitamin to feed plants with, and some Asian coutries even use it for preventing colds and diseases as they dip children in urine bath. It comes from our natural body, and plants again are purifying it by using their "body" and leaf, and the former urine is now thin air. Using the flow of elements: Think about this as a water circulating system with a tap in your sink. A tube system to the local river where everything ends up and in the middle of this system there is some technique to purify and make this water clean. Well, the question how to purify this water from the lake to the tap, and then back again to nature , that is the activity that decides whether the water will leave traces in the tubes to make this pure or not, and whether what comes out of the tap is drinkable. Mother earth works just the same way.

Like pollution from acid rain water comes from us, but a single plant again is trying its best to purify it, and is yet another sign that pollution is for processing, and not for keeping. If humen too are "seen" as pollution, or their techniques are, nature will naturally process it - and trying to force the process into pure elements like clean air again.

I am very much aware of that the earth is neither an animal or a human, but this time we speak of nature as one living condition, and not a fossile.

This drivers' expression on his car (from Freeland ecovillage): "Unbalance" instead of "Ambulance"

Reminding of this post as we speak (Straw Bale Houses Earth Quake Resistant): http://ecoiselin.blogspot.com/2010/09/eco-in-denmark-straw-bale-houses-earth.html

Eco in Norway: Event followup! A Successful Eco Circle.



Group photo of the remaining participating audience at my event, December 18 2010.

A cold winterday the 18th of December 2010 was for some people to celebrate and sacrifice in the name of the obvious Christmas light. Most people went to go shopping in such circumstances, stressed and crowded. Instead, a group of people ready for change chose another alternative of sacrificing and lighting; they chose to enter my ecology event at the end of the autumn roadtrip in Oslo - city of the Tiger and even more; city of the coming greener future with planned urban district Sagene.  The district Sagene was a sponsor of my event.

At the event called "Fornybarfamilien", we came up with alternatives to energy saving, energy consuming, ecology practice, history of danish eco-societies and new economies. A New Year's Resolution is often something we think of as something being persuaded, just like doing the best for your family by buying the greatest stuff for Christmas, while another kind of Resolution could be one to prepare a family meal to the coming generation as in new habits, new environments, new systems of building and restoration, and new matrixes in organizations.

"Fornybarfamilien" (The Renewable Family) showed us that We are the Designers. Here I am trying to use my storytelling for this society's demand of excitement and participation in the age of the cyber nation which is the driving force of today's markets. The advertising industry has used this storytelling strategy for years! Now it is time for us to deliver the same in the sence of green storytelling! The consumers are the end target anyway. And they are driving our cycle in the sentence "what's in it for me". So therefor we are buying what is best told or best performed in the name of what is giving us a quality of life.

Qualities of life have different value in the different ages of time, it was reported. Before, products of high value was a status symbol and a tool to union the like-minded . Today, in our postmodern information society, the value is rather the quality of the products aim to bring us a most sustainable happiness. This way of thinking, is turning our consumer habits upside-down!

Demonstration of how to make your own solar heating from empty cans, by Denmark's engineer specialist on solar power: Ernst Drastrup. The demo was shown at the event.

The main motivation of holding this event, was to stimulate the creative thinking of a greener household and home. Many of the seminar speakers did all of this. The first part of this concept, was a test for upcoming challenges and maybe another event where I would like to bring a greater surrounding and a social experience for the audience to join.

At this event, the participants kept taking notes and asking questions all the time in a very intimate dialogue. The citizen of Samsoe (Samsø / Samso ) Energy Island in Denmark, Stefan Wollfbrandt, told us about all the benefits of his low energy positive house. New economies like ecology and economy in a circular system were also presented in hands-on methods and history of peak oil. We found out that solutions must not consist of only one. Solutions are made to connect , just like any circular system. That is why Denmark, which is a flat country, is a great provider of wind energy, wheras Norway could use alot more fjord or mountain energy.

Each environment has its own solution. We cannot just go blind by the oil prophecies of a greater future because our past was so great and rich, when the resources are running out and as we know it - the peak will come not slow, but fast as long as the rest of the world market expand in a different alternative direction than Norway. We'd have to follow, and we're slow on preparing for its peak. Sweden and Denmark are alot more adaptive.

The vulnerability of not investing in green technologies before it is too late on top of the mountain, was well documented by BI Center of Climate Strategy. The ticking bomb of the green growth was illustrated by a bottle of ketchup being sqeezed like it is now, and suddenly - there will be green all over the place!

At the event, I presented where Denmark is on the map compared to us in Norway. We live in a country with great distance between each other (originally) with mountains separating us, and we are used to an "ownership"-culture where nothing compromises with the mindset of collectiveness. While the danes live flat and connected, they're used to lot more sharing-culture. The challenge for the case of Norway, is that our resources must be rediscovered by ourselves, as it differ from the danish, and we must open up our own eyes to discover our own possibilities.

We usually say that we are lucky to be powered by waterfalls and their engines. And of course it provides us with most of our energy consumption. But even though we can rely on that water power is clean and a good resource for Norway, we also have to ask ourselves whether this is ecologically and holisticly renewable energy or not when it dries our watery ground, cuts off biological diversity, and looks terrible when constructed in our fjords? How renewable is it, then?...

The word holistic, is a part of ecology and the new economy and the new energy politics. The challenge for Norway, is to find our holistic perception again.
Transition Towns Norway was represented at the meeting, as well. They gave us hope on a system of meeting structure that works in plenty other cities and countries, also in a very holistic way of organizing and future-thinking.

The most exciting thing about the "Fornybarfamilien"-event, was that we were able to connect on a grassroot level to exchange views and strategies and telephone numbers for further building, and also coming together for a plot of a "fantasy home!" Everyone was included, and felt included. And as we turned around, we noticed how important it was to get the "inclusion"-factor on, and the "happy-feel-in-an-interactive-moment" on.

A group of people living in a neighbourhood in Oslo asked for more information from Samsoe on how to continue their work, and no outcome is better than that! - The inspiration to a greater action.

Slow Food Oslo also wanted to get more team members to continue their growth in Oslo - ironically for a slower consumption, but faster developement. See , this has turned upside-down! The past organizations of "slow structure/business as usual" has been replaced by fast organization and further own a slow, circular growth.

Seminar programme in Norwegian:
http://fornybarfamilien.origo.no/-/image/show/1620982_program-side1,
http://fornybarfamilien.origo.no/-/image/show/1620983_program-side2

Eco in Denmark: World's largest solar district heating plant

Yesterday I went for a daytrip to city Marstal (on island Aeroe/ Aero), mostly famous for its sailor history and where the very last transport by sailboat happened. "Farewell To Sails" had its exhibition when I went there, restoring an old ship that drowned and I went for a museum ride. Apart from my enthusiasm for boats and everything that floats, I went to see another tale - how the trial supplement of a solar collector plant for the city's single swimmingpool became the world's largest district heating plant to cover 30 percent of whole Marstal's requirements for heating! I think it is so nice when a little try-out turns into something expansive and re-used, like this one!:)

The plant in whole, 18,354m2. The markers are pointing at the different producers of solar panels and collectors delivered to the plant (four), also the tank for storage, as well as the circulating system and the pit heat store.

Budget of such a project. Supported by EU and Danish Energy Authority

Originally, the story begins with Marstal wanting their swimmingpool to be heated from "alternative energy" because the oil heating had a way too expensive bill. This was in 1993, and economy pushed the island into thinking differently and it was after several meetings an idea of a solar heating system. At the same time Marstal District Heating was interested in replacing some of their waste oil consumption by more eco-friendly fuel. With alittle midwifery from the Danish Association of Consulting Engineers, it resulted in a solar collector on the swimmingpool roof in 1994. The 75m2 solar collectors were to heat the pool only. However, the system also served another purpose: It was a test system to show if solar heating on a major scale was worth staking on. And it was. After six months, the results on paying the heating bill looked so promising that they decided to develope 8,000m2 of solar panels on the field behind the heating plant - and connect them to the district heating network. This was the beginning of the great success! From May till October, Marstal's consumption is 100% covered by solar heating. Source: http://www.solarmarstal.dk/

In danish: A district heating storage, to store heat from solar panels.

Sailor city Marstal. Collecting muliple creativities from all over the world when travelling by the sea.

the restoration of an old sunken ship.

Eco in Denmark: Article-bits about Samsø (in norwegian)

Copyright: "Det Beste" (Norwegian magazine)

For sharing: Idébanken (source)

Eco in Denmark: The 100% Renewable Energy Island

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: 

Samsoe (Samsø / Samso) is an island between island Sjaelland and the Jylland in Denmark, 114 square kilometres and 4000 inhabitants. We took a local ferry to find an island with top technology from both worlds! The farmers, the scientists, the locals and the top technical equipment for becoming a leading flagship of energy. Today, after 10 years of developement, Samsoe is hosting lots of "energy tourists" and curious energy enthusiasts from all over the world. How they made it happen, is a nice story itself. The key is participation. This trip was done August 9th to discover how this island is 100% self-sustained from renewable energy, and managed to get a guided tour around the wonderful island:

Above: Air heating and conditioning system